Interview and Audition Day

Information for students, teachers, and parents

Current seniors are invited to attend the Ohio Unified Interview and Audition Day January 6, 2018, at Westerville Central High School.

For the 5th consecutive year, Ohio Thespians is sponsoring a once-a-year opportunity for students to audition for Musical Theatre, Acting, Design & Technology, and General Theatre programs. Universities from across the state and surrounding areas will register and attend the event to see your student(s) and discuss potential opportunities.

Schools attending as of December 3, 2018 include:

Ashland University

Bowling Green State University

Case Western Reserve University

Heidelberg University

Indiana University South Bend

Marietta College

Miami University

Mount Vernon Nazerene University

Niagra University

Ohio Northern University

Ohio University

Otterbein University

Shawnee State University

Siena Heights University

The University of Akron

The University of Mount Union

University of Evansville

University of Findlay

Wittenberg University

Wright State University

Students do not need to be members of the Thespian Society. The Ohio Unified Interview and Audition day is sponsored by Ohio Thespians, but all Seniors interested in a career in the arts are invited to register.

Performers will be given three minutes to present their best work (singing, acting or a combination). All students must sing live. A musical theatre accompanist will be provided.

Technicians, Directors and Managers will have three minutes to present a sampling of their portfolio and discuss their wants for college.

Students can also participate in a dance call. Please note, Musical Theatre applicants are required to be at the dance call. A college level dance instructor will lead the dance call.

Once auditions and interviews are finished, universities will select students to callback and talk about their programs in more depth.

General: You don’t have to bring a headshot and resume as they are loaded on the getacceptd.com system and the reps will have access to them.

All Participants: Actors: State your name and what you are performing (in order). Time will begin after you slate. Technicians: State your name and what your focus is, and what your goals are. Keep this brief. Then begin to show your portfolio and/or examples of your work. Time will begin after you state your goals. Time limit is three minutes.

Technicians: After you finish your three minutes, you will be dismissed until callbacks. Do not worry if you can’t show everything you have in 3 minutes or are nervous when you are talking to a crowd. The colleges want to see your best work and are excited to have you interview for their program. Show the highlights and bring your portfolio or examples to the callback sessions.

Musical Theatre:

Your binder should be ½ inch thick

Pages should be free of staples and plastic covers

Music should be labeled in RED at the beginning and end of the cutting.

Only your audition music should be in the binder.

Musical Theatre applicants have a total of three minutes to do a combination of singing and acting. You may choose to perform a song and monologue, two songs, two songs and a monologue, etc. It is up to you. All music will be played on the piano by the accompanist or on an instrument by the applicant. There will be no tracks or acapella singing permitted.

Acting: Acting applicants are given three minutes to present their work. You may present one monologue, two monologues, or you can accompany yourself and sing a song and present a monologue. It is up to you. An accompanist will not be provided for the acting portion. All singing must be live with music, no acapella. You do not need to fill the three minutes.

Callbacks: Posted in a designated area on site. Each university will post a roster of names to they want to see. All colleges encourage you to speak with them if you are passionate about their institution. Plan to spend time with the college rep. They will give you steps to apply and explain what needs to be done from this point to accept offers or continue the audition process.

End of Day: Once you have talked with the schools who called you back, you are free to leave. Thank you for participating.

Attire: You need to dress as though you were interviewing for a job. Look neat and presentable. Shirt and slacks, blouse and skirt, or dress are appropriate. Ties are optional. Coats are not necessary. No opened toed shoes. The dress should be business casual. Make sure your clothing is modest and in good taste. Be you. Look and feel good!

HAVE FUN: The colleges want you to be great. Come ready to perform and have fun!

Student registration

To participate, students need to log on to GetAcceptd, select major, submit profile information and enter payment. This information will be shared with the participating colleges only and be used as registration for Ohio Unified Theatre Audition and Interview Day.

There is no need to apply to the colleges before the audition. Once the schools attend, they will assist in getting applications completed for their schools so your student may be considered for the freshmen class in the fall of 2018.

The Ohio Chapter of the Educational Theatre Association is delighted to once again partner with you and your institution to create incredible recruitment opportunities for Ohio’s next generation of theatre professionals.

Representatives from your university are invited to attend two events:

Ohio Unified Auditions | Saturday, January 6, 2018Westerville Central High SchoolSenior level students of all disciplines (tech, design, performance, management, education, writing, etc) are invited to attend. Musical Theatre majors will have a dance call, followed by a combination of singing/acting. Acting majors will have monologue time, while design, management, directors, and others will have time to present portfolios. After a lunch break, callbacks will be posted. Universities will be set up college fair style for callbacks. Private rooms will be made available for schools wishing to work on material.

And/or

Ohio Thespian State Conference | Saturday, March 24, 2016Northmont High SchoolUniversities are invited to set up a college fair type table in the main corridor of the school and speak with students between grades 9-12 about their institution. College reps will also be invited to conduct workshops, run audition masterclasses, judge the acting, singing, design and dance events and select scholarship winners. We are excited to make you and your institution a part of the Ohio Thespian State Conference experience.

Past years have seen 18 schools participate and 65 students audition. This year, we hope to build on that success and increase our number of applicants and universities in attendance.

Register online by November 1 to attend both events for a special fee and have your school listed as a participant in advertisements.

Background checks will be conducted on all adult participants to better ensure the safety of students attending EdTA events. Background checks are conducted online by Trak-1 and allow the state to pay a lower insurance premium. They are provided at no cost.